Eggplant Dip

As mentioned in a previous post – Eggplant Parmesan – I love growing eggplants and I really love trying recipes. This next recipe is sooooo easy and soooooooooooooo Yummy. It is perfect for a dip during a gathering or just to enjoy all by yourself! Trust me- you will want to eat it with a spoon. I recommend using bite size chips- but no judging here!

Eggplant Dip

Ingredients:

• Eggplants (2-3)
• Garlic Cloves (3-4)
• Feta Cheese – I use a container of the Feta Crumbles 12 oz.
• Olive Oil
• Salt

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Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• On a baking sheet, place rinsed off eggplants. With a fork- stab a couple of holes into each eggplant.
• Drizzle eggplants with Olive Oil and sprinkle salt onto each eggplant.
• Baked in Pre-heated oven for 45-50 minutes.
• Once out of the oven- Using oven gloves/mitts- remove each eggplant onto a cutting board. Cut the green (Now more brown color) off each eggplant and start pulling skin off, sometimes you are able to more like squeeze the “meat” part out of the eggplants. It depends on how thick the skin is on the eggplant.
• In a food processor- place garlic cloves and the inside (the meat) of the eggplant into the processor. Add about one to two teaspoons of Olive Oil and the whole container of the feta cheese. Place the top of the food processor on and begin to process. I normally let it run for about a minute to 90 seconds. That is normally enough time to mince everything together.
• Place the mixture in a serving bowl and serve. This dip is great warm or cold. Although eating it warm does hold a special spot in my heart!

Livestock/Deadstock Car game!

It certainly has been a very CRAZY 2020. And just think… we have 4 months left. Give me a moment as I scream into a pillow and drown out my tears with music and a glass of wine.

OK. I am back. My husband told me I needed to share this car game with y’all. Since it seems like many people are taking road trips; either far away places (In the USA of course) or easy day trips and everything in between; Family time in the car seems to be a norm. With all that time we know what happens, especially with kids (Of any ages) in the car… boredom. My family has mastered road trips, being that the boys are older (13 and 15yrs old) we still love playing this game: Livestock/Deadstock. A bit of a cryptic name… and once you know how to play… yeah… there is really no better title. I can’t remember where Alexander picked up this game… nor did it have a name. My boys actually coined Livestock/Deadstock.

So enough with the backstory… lets talk:

How to win: Be the team with the most points when you reach your destination.

Rules:

Building the Teams

• Split the car down the middle: Driver side vs Passenger Side.
• Everything on the Right side of the road (Passenger side) is the passenger side’s playing field
• Everything on the Left side of the road (Driver’s side) is the driver side’s playing field
• When you see livestock i.e. cows, horses, chicken (In a pen), donkeys, etc. your team receives a point. Basically- any livestock in a fence/pen counts… NOTE: you can only count a farm once- even if it has multiple fenced animals.
• When your team sees a cemetery or graveyard on your side- you LOSE all your points and start counting again.
• Once you arrive to your destination- which ever team has the most points wins!
• Now- like all great games- there is a WINNER takes all moment: IF your team sees a BEAR on their side – That team automatically Wins. Game is over! Seriously… A Bear. A live bear… and YES this has happened… my husband still gloats that he saw the bear! And yes… it annoys me still.
• Ok- so lets say that you are somewhere where there might not be bears… like along the coast somewhere. We have been in great discussions about this- since we go camping a bunch at the beach. So there is a new WINNER takes all moment. A wild gator. 🐊 that is what we have decided on so far. We also thought about a dolphin 🐬 however we didn’t quite agree. Do you have thoughts? Ideas?

Homemade Bread

Finding that we are home for the time being- I am using the opportunity to let my boys get their hands dirty in the kitchen! My youngest, 13 yrs old, wanted to take a stab at baking homemade bread.

Chef Nicholas

We do not have a bread machine. So this was going to be a true experiment in the kitchen. I can’t even remember, if ever, that I have baked bread. I am sure I have at one point in time; just a LONG time ago.

I began with a quick search for EASY HOMEMADE BREAD recipes. Picked the one that came up first and was ready to roll. In true fashion- I did “Karie-fy” the recipe a tad.

Easy Homemade Bread

Ingredients

• 2 cups warm water 110 degrees F/45 degrees C
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 packages of active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil* We used a tuscan herb infused Olive oil… SO YUMMY! it added so much flavor to the bread.
• 5 cups flour 

Instructions

• In a large bowl, we used my kitchenAid Mixer, dissolve the sugar in warm water and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.
• Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time.
• Knead dough, if using the bread attachment on the mixer, for 8 minutes. If kneading by hand… knead for about 12-15 minutes. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a warm damp cloth or plastic wrap. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• Punch dough down. Knead for 1 minute and divide in half. Shape into loaves and place into two greased 9×5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30-40 minutes.

Once the bread is cool, we brushed the tops with some melted Ghee (Butter). The flavor was amazing! And now, Nicholas is coming up with a few other Bread recipe ideas. Looks like we will be baking a bunch!

Ginger steak stir fry- Whole 30 style

It’s January. That means it is time for my yearly 30 days of Whole30. Being that I have done whole 30 numerous times, it is really easy to jump in! Even though it is easy to jump in; that does not mean that I don’t need new recipes. I can’t keep eating the same things every time I do whole30. So, now that I have the basics of whole30 down- I have started playing around with recipes! After being asked by my boys for Chinese food… yes, they eat whole30 dinners with my husband and I… I decided to try a stir fry. Its not too bad if you ask me! Here are the details:

Marinade Ingredients:

• 1 cup Beef Broth
• 4 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Ground Ginger
• 1/4 Teaspoon Freshly-ground Black pepper
• 2 tablespoons Potato starch for those on Whole30 (for those not Cornstarch)
• 1 teaspoon of Chinese five spice powder

Stir Fry Ingredients:

• About 1lb of steak (Cut into Strips- Normally you can find already stripped steak in the meat department)
• 3 Garlic Gloves
• Olive Oil
• Package of Portobello mushrooms (Cut chunky)
• Package of Button Mushrooms (Cut larger ones in half)
• 3 cups of torn apart/cut Kale
• 3 green onions
• *Feel free to add other types of mushrooms Shiitake Mushrooms would work well.

Let’s start cooking!

1. Mix all Marinade ingredients together in a bowl and whisk. Once mixed transfer into a large resealable bag and add Steak strips. Lightly mix the marinade and the steak. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. ( You can place in refrigerator… I actually left my out on the counter)
2. Heat large pan with olive oil to medium/ medium-high heat.
3. Add Minced garlic and stir. Once you really start smelling the garlic (Normally about a minute or two) move onto step 4.
4. remove strips from bag (Reserve the liquid) and add to the pan. Stirring occasionally until both sides of strips are brown then remove the strips from the pan.
5. (If liquid i.e. olive oil is low- add a touch more to the pan.) then add the Mushrooms. Stirring occasionally for about 2-3 minutes.
6. Add Kale to the mushrooms. Stir to combine the mushrooms and Kale. Then add reserved Marinade. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
7. Once the Kale is wilted and the mushrooms have cooked add back in the strips and stir to combine.
8. Serve- add the diced green onions on top

Now… to make this meal even more delish.. I made Cauliflower rice! Now- you don’t have to make your own… many retailers now have steerable cauliflower rice! It makes making this meal even easier!

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Shishito Peppers

This year, along with my Urban garden, a friend and I teamed up to work on her MUCH larger garden. One great thing is the variety of plants we could plant and…. learning about new varieties! I was just introduced to Shishito Peppers!!!! I know! Where have I been? These peppers are great and I can’t wait to add to my Urban Garden next year. These peppers are so good! This first short post is about cooking. And seriously, this will be a short post! The second is about Homemade Pimiento Cheese Stuffed Shishito Peppers.

Blistered Shishito Peppers

Ingredients:

• Shishito Peppers (however many you want)
• Olive Oil
• Sea salt

Directions:

• Place rinsed off Shishito Peppers in a plastic bag. Add in two drizzles of Olive Oil and Sprinkle with Sea Salt.
• Shake to coat the peppers
• Place a cast Iron Skillet onto stove top. (MUST BE CAST IRON! you need this to get hot and cast iron gets the hottest!)
• Turn on Fan above stove top
• Place Peppers into the skillet
• Let Peppers sit- turning only when the side face down begins to blister and blacken.
• When Peppers are blistered remove from skillet
• Serve!

Eggplant Parmesan

Every year I have what I call an “Urban” Garden. Living in the city homes have small lots. I have always loved planting vegetable gardens, so it comes as no surprise to my husband that I manage to grow a vegetable garden; even in small spaces. My small space? My vegetable garden is located on the thin stretch of land between the sidewalk and the curb. Seriously. Even for being on the small side- it delivers a strong punch. This year, one being eggplants. I have two large eggplant plants growing and I was so excited to be able to harvest 3 times now! The plants still have blooms on them- so I know I will have another harvest soon and I cannot wait. I will be sharing two of my go-to recipes for the eggplants. First is a main course: Eggplant Parmesan. The Second is a snack: Eggplant Dip (post to come soon).

Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients:

• Eggplants (3-4)
• 2 eggs
• Bread crumbs(about 1 cup)
• Your Favorite Pasta red sauce (If you make homemade- even better!)
• Mozzarella Cheese- thick slices- I cheated and purchased a pre-sliced Mozzarella log.

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Sweat your Eggplants! I cannot stress this enough! Cut your eggplants into 1/2 to 1 inch slices. Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt and then layer between paper towels (Or fabric napkins). Place a heavy bowl or platter on top and let the eggplants sweat for about an hour.
• Once your eggplants have “sweat it out”. Begin with a layer of sauce in a baking dish.
• Put two bowls out (One for the eggs and one for the bread crumbs)
• Break eggs into one of the bowls and whisk. I like to add salt & pepper, along with some oregano.
• In the second bowl place bread crumbs- Side note- I used a plate last time and I thought that works better. So either a plate or bowl would work.
• Take each eggplant slice and dip it in the egg batter. Then take the slice and dip into the bread crumbs. Make sure to really coat the eggplant slice.
• Create one layer in the baking dish. I used a smaller dish so my layer was made up of 6 (six) slices.
• Place a mozzarella slice on each eggplant slice, cover with another thin layer of sauce.
• Repeat the last 3 steps until all eggplant slices are used. End with a layer of sauce. As an added bonus- I use some of the mozzarella, shred it and sprinkle a layer on top.
• Place in the oven and bake for 30-45 minutes; until golden brown.

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I forgot to take a photo of the finished product. I am sure I will be making this again as it was such a big hit that there were NO leftovers. Everyone loved the Eggplant Parmesan and can’t wait for the next harvest!

Fun, Free (and Educational) Family Time

Every summer begins the same way, I sit down with the boys and ask them to help make a “Summer Bucket List”. This sounds all good. Great actually. Then you look at the list. Many items are easy, i.e. Carowinds, summer movie night, fishing…. others are a bit more reaching: Universal Studios, Germany, etc.

The main issue I run into is that of planning family fun… that is FREE… oh and educational. Easy right? Sometimes not. The local Library always has events, which are great. Sometimes you want to spice things up. Luckily for me, during the spring, I was looking up Volunteer opportunities for my son Nicholas (he needs community service hours for school). It was during this time that I found the Carolina Thread Trail. Now, I have known about CTT, I just didn’t know HOW many activities they offer! Not just Creek Clean ups! These Activities are FREE and Family Friendly (a few do have age requirements). So, I decided to try out an activity.

Fitness Walk at Twelve Mile Creek Greenway

The NC/SC Suspension Bridge

I signed my family up for the Fitness walk on a Thursday Evening sponsored by CTT and Catawba Lands Conservation. The walk took place out in Waxhaw, a bit of a drive but traffic was no issue! Once we arrived and joined the group (Along with a guide)- it was time to walk.

The trail was great. We only covered about 3 miles however we went far enough to cross the NC/SC border by a suspension bridge! The boys really liked crossing the bridge. (I am not going to lie… we ALL loved the bridge). We learned about the local stormwater services, information regarding the continuing development of the Carolina Thread Trail and animals. We saw a toad and a snake that had just finished eating!!! That was really cool. We also learned terminology regarding the terrain around the creeks and greenways.

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After the walk, we learned more about the other activities that the CTT and I will tell you- if you go to a few of these events- you might just see us there! There are guided bike rides, kayaking tours and more! And again- FREE (unless you need to rent a bike.)

Here is some more information regarding Carolina Thread Trail and Catawba Lands Conservation and a direct link to the events calendar. You can find more photos from the walk we did on the Carolina Thread Trail Facebook page

Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie

Sometimes when I cook, I am left with leftovers. Happens to everyone right?! Here is the thing, I am not a huge fan of leftovers. Like at all. The only leftover I can really do is spaghetti and I can only do that because I place a slice of cheese on top of it when I reheat it. Seriously. So I am always trying to come up with great recipes that will use up any leftovers. And this one, is a good one. I love my Chicken in a Crock pot recipe. My whole family LOVES that chicken. Normally I do not have enough left over that I can do anything besides a quick one- person chicken salad sandwich. Every once in awhile, I do and when that happens I do my Homemade Chicken Noodle soup or this new recipe: Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie.

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So this one is a really easy recipe. Let’s say that you have the chicken done, if not, check out the recipe link above. Here are the remaining items needed for this recipe. Also- a quick note, my oldest is allergic to all nuts and tree nuts… so this includes legumes. So this Chicken Pot Pie has no peas or green beans in the recipe. I have to find substitutes in many recipes. I sometimes use asparagus, in this case I used celery. Don’t crinkle your nose quite yet. The Celery gives this a nice crunch and the flavor adds to the recipe.

Ingredients:

• Cooked Chicken cut up/torn into bite size pieces
• 1 onion (diced)
• Fresh Carrots (I do about 2-3 carrots)
• Fresh Celery (about 2-3 stalks- pending size)
• 1 can Cream of Chicken soup
• 1/2 – 1 cup shredded cheese (I like a cheddar and Colby blend)
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 garlic cloves (Minced)
• 2 pre-made pie crust (On this one I “Cheated” and purchased… I cut the decorations into the top just because… lol)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a large bowl mix all ingredients (Minus the Pie Crust)
• Roll 1 pie crust into a pie pan. (Make sure you grease or spray the pie pan prior to laying down the crust). Pour the chicken mixture into the crust lined pie pan. Cover with the second pie crust. Flute the edges. I like to then cover the edges with Aluminum Foil (Prevents the edges from burning)
• Bake for about 40 minutes. (After 30 minutes- peek on the pie occasionally- oven times can vary.)
• Remove from oven and let sit.

That’s it. This is a simple recipe and besides the cutting up of the veggies, if you have the chicken ready- it’s pretty quick. I have been told that someone used a rotisserie chicken purchased from the store as well. And that too is very easy!

Homemade Tomato Soup

Homemade Tomato soup

I love my “Urban” garden. Every year I plant veggies and I get excited to see what is going to grow well, having fresh veggies and playing with recipes. Well, that is all and good until the weather gets colder. And once I use up all of my lovely veggies… I start going through a grieving moment. 😆 Then all I want is to make things out of fresh veggies. So, sometimes I run to the store and gather the ingredients for what ever it is that I apparently want to try to make. In this case, homemade tomato soup.

I was getting ready to host a group of gals for bunco. As you know, when you put together a group of people you are going to have “the list”. You know exactly what I am talking about. “The List” is the list of foods that someone is not eating, whether only for the moment (Fad diets) or for life (allergies). So here I was, planning a meal for 12 ladies. The weather had been chilly (Fall was on the way out, winter on the skirt tails) so I really just wanted fresh Homemade Tomato soup. So that is just what I did. And do you know what? It wasn’t that hard! A bit time consuming, but so worth it! Here are the details:

Ingredients:

• 8 lbs of mixed tomatoes (I used a mix because I wanted too… no other reason)

• 2 red bell peppers

• 6-8 cloves of garlic

• 2 Onions (diced)

• Vegetable broth

• Olive oil

• Salt & Pepper

• Basil- fresh Bundle

• Oregano- Fresh Bundle if available

Directions:

• Pre heat oven to 450 Degrees F. Wash and cut tomatoes (halves for smaller ones, quarters for larger) Cut Peppers, Onions, skin garlic cloves.
• Place the above ingredients on a large pan. Drizzle with Olive Oil, salt & Pepper, mix. Top with a handful of torn up Basil and Oregano.
• Roast for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally. (If you don’t have a large pan for all of the tomatoes, you can either roast multiple pans at once (Will require a bit longer of time) or do one pan at a time. Towards the end of the 30 minutes. Place Oven on Broil (Low- so you can watch) and allow the veggies to Broil for a few minutes. Once the veggies start to color, remove them from the oven.
• In a large pot, bring vegetable broth to a boil. Drop some more fresh herbs into the pot as well. No need to really chop these, the whole thing will be going into a blender. Once the Broth is boiling, add the roasted veggies.
• Here is the tricky part. I read many recipes that called for a hand blender. I tried and my blender was leaving chunks. I don’t like my tomato soup chunky. I used a Blender. Now, this takes a bit longer and is a bit of an art. NEVER fill a blender to the top when you are blending HOT liquids. I had to tell my husband that (He was helping at this point….and guess what he still did… YEP.. well that was a mess) Fill the blender just under 1/2 way. Blend, then pour that blended portion back into the pot. Repeat this step. Multiple times. Until the soup is consistent through out.

Extra Notes: If you do not need a vegetarian option- use chicken broth. I also created a “toppings” bar. People had the option of adding Heavy Cream, shredded cheese, croutons, Green Onions and Parmesan Cheese. I also had different crackers on hand as well as Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (For those that could eat dairy) and a small side salad. I had leftovers (By the way feel free to cut this recipe in half! I was able to jar a few helpings of the soup. Which was fabulous for later!)

It’s a Party.. did I nail it or Fail?

Nicholas gave his approval!

So, if you have followed my blog for a while, then you might remember my post Nailed It! and Nicholas…. made me do it. That blog was created because my son, Nicholas, loves watching the show Nailed it. If you haven’t checked it out… you should. It is really quite entertaining.

Continuing with the story, Nicholas turned 12 in February. 12!! EEK! For his party he really wanted me to “recreate” a.k.a. make it again- but better… the Unicorn cake. After about a week of talks, he then wanted a cool cake that matched the theme of his party. His party was a Nerf battle. There is a place called Carolina Dart Battles. You bring your own Nerf gun and they provide the darts and obstacles. It was really fun to watch all the boys run around. And although they realized quickly that they were faster than the darts, they still had fun. *Side note… this party would be great for the ages of 7-10 perhaps 11… being 12, the kids were bigger and faster. And even though there were a few “Epic” moments… it would have been better suited for a younger group. That being said- the party continued afterwards at home.

The Cake: the reason for this post. I searched for “Nerf Themed cakes” and just wow. I definitely had my work cut out for me. Nicholas wanted a multi- tiered cake with nerf decorations. So I went to work. First the multi layers, and yes I made them different colors. I decided to have some fun and tried a “tie- dyed” effect. I think it turned out pretty cool.

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After that, time to bring out the Fondant. A couple of quick notes- 1. I think I am finally getting use to Fondant. 2- no one likes the taste. 😂 So I think from now on- I am going to try smoothing icing. This, I hear, takes more patience. We will see how it ends. 3- you can never have to much butter cream between the layers of cake.

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Now, time for the fun stuff! DECORATING the cake. I grabbed Nerf Darts, extra fondant (I purchased pre-color fondant.), a target and Skewers. I staked the cake with the skewers, leaving enough space for them to act as holders for the darts. And then went to work. I hand cut the letters and splats. I added a white butter cream frosting trim to finish the bottom.

Here are a few photos:

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The cake was a hit! And here is hoping that my next cake is even better! SO what are your thoughts? Did I nail it?